Apr 16, 2009

This is an irregular feature - both in frequency and oddness - dedicated to a word I came across that I have never previously used.

samogon (SAH-moh-gohn) n. a homemade distilled liquor produced in Russia through a variety of methods and ingredients.

From the Russian word самогон, which literally means "self-fire" or"self-distillate," the production of samogon is even more time-honored in Russia than moonshine is in the United States. The production of distilled spirits was a state monopoly in Russia from the sixteenth century through the Soviet era, and taxes from liquors such as vodka provided an important source of state revenue.